Administration

Washington, D.C. — Today, Rep. Robert Garcia, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, sent letters to President Trump’s son-in-law, Michael Boulos, businessman and Boulos associate, James Frangi, and Saudi businessman, Abdulelah Allam. The letters respond to public reporting that Mr. Boulos received $100,000 for leveraging his ties to President Trump to help Mr. Allam retrieve assets seized by the Saudi government in a corruption crackdown. According to public reports, Mr. Frangi, who is also Mr. Boulos’s cousin, served as a middleman in Boulos’s shady dealings with the Saudi businessman. Ranking Member Garcia is seeking details of the deal and demanding to know whether Boulos is continuing to profit from marrying into the Trump family.

Washington, D.C. — Today, Rep. Robert Garcia, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, led all 20 Committee Democrats in sending letters to 24 major federal agencies that touch every aspect of Americans’ lives, from health care to education to national security, after multiple offices of inspectors general reported to Committee staff about agency actions that block them from carrying out their watchdog duties.  Reports to the Committee include general vacancies, staffing shortages, and delayed agency responses to investigation requests.  Without adequate resources and information, inspectors general cannot hold the Trump Administration accountable for corruption or misconduct.  In the letter, Committee Democrats stress the importance of nonpartisan, independent inspectors general, underscoring that obstructing inspectors general from carrying out oversight of their respective agencies is a serious violation of federal law and could lead to fraud, waste, and abuse of taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars.

Washington, D.C. — Today, Rep. Robert Garcia, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the Committee on the Judiciary, Rep. Greg Casar, and Rep. Jasmine Crockett, Vice Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, demanded answers from U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi and Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) Director Kash Patel regarding the reported use of federal law enforcement resources for purely political purposes.  The lawmakers sent a letter to Bondi and Patel following reports that the FBI had agreed to assist Texas Republicans in finding Texas state legislators who left the state to block Republican efforts to gerrymander the state’s Congressional districts ahead of next year’s mid-term elections.  The Members pressed the Department of Justice (DOJ) and FBI to clarify whether they are involved in these efforts.  If they are, the Members demanded that DOJ and FBI provide the legal basis and justification for these actions, as well as details about any use of federal taxpayer-funded resources, tools, and systems in this matter.